Improvement in thrashing-machines



5 Sheets-Sheetl.

.J. n. ELWARD. THRASI-IING-MACHINE.

Patented Feb. 20,1877.

N PETERS. PHOTO-LITHOGIiAPHER. WASHINGTON. 0. Cl

Patnted. Fe-b.2 0,1877.

' Izaak/02;

N. PETERS, PHOTO-IJTHOGBAPHER, WASHINGTON. D. C.

JOHN H. ELWARD, on ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA.

IMPROVEMENT IN THRASHING-MACHi NES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 197,607, dated February20, 1877 application filed February 8. 1877.

panying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, whichform a part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of my im proved thrasher and separator,with part of the casing removed. Fig. 1? is a detached view of a plateused to regulate the throw of the shaker. Fig. 2 is a verticallongitudinal section. Fig 3 is a detached perspective view of the flaxand'timothy seed attachment. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal verticalsection ofthe same, showing its position relatively to the tail-board of the shoe.Fig. 5 is an enlarged view of the concave, the grating, and theiradjusting devices. Figs. 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, represent these adjustingappliances, and modifications of the same. Fig. 11 is a side elevationof the machine. Fig. 12 is a plan view of the rear part. Fig. 13 is alongitudinal section of the grain'delivery spout. Fig. 14

ploycd for seating the machine firmly upon the front axle when inoperation. Fig. 17 is r a detached view of the locking-plate. Figs.

18 and 19 are plan views of the straw-stacker attachment. Fig. 20 is aside elevation of the same.

Like letters of reference indicate similar parts in all of the figures.

A are the front wheels. A are the rear wheels. A is the front axle,attached to the front bolster A by a king-bolt in the usual manner.

Referring to Figs. 15 and 16, a a are adjusting or leveling screwsfitting threads in bolster A the upper ends of the screws having cranksa a and the upper side of the axle being provided with bearing-plates aa? upon which the lower ends of the screws rest when they (the screws)are screwed down, so as to support the bolster and the front end of themachine firmly upon the axle, and prevent.

the machine from rocking or tilting upon the king-bolt, when the machineis thrashing, as shown in Fig. 15.

' When the screws have been sufficiently tightened up, they are retainedin position by means of a locking plate, A, the crank-pinsenteringholesa in this plate,as will be readily understood from aninspection of the drawings without further explanation.

T113. main frame of the machine, and the inclosing casing aresubstantially the same as those of ordinary thrashers, with exceptionsto be hereinafter noted, and may be made of any desired material.

One important exception relating to the frame-work is making the sidesills in .two pieces, .8 B (see Figs. 1, 2, and 11,) these pieces beingsecured to each other by bolting or otherwise.

The object of this construction is to afford room forthe front wheels toturn or be cramped entirely under the body of the machine, thus makingit much easier to handle with a team.

In the drawings I have removed the casing or shell from immediatelybelow thecylinder and concave, inorder to more readily exhibit theinternal construction of that part of the thrasher.

B is a center brace, (see Fig. 2,) to support the lower end of theking-bolt. U is the cylinder, of any usual or approved construction. Uarethc segments of the concave, pivoted at 0 to the main frame-work. Gis the grating pivoted'at c to the segments 0 The rear side of thegrating is adjust-ably supported upon vertical links 0 0 the lower endsof the links being attached to crankarms 0 .(one only being shown) ofrockshaft 0 This rock-shaft is mounted in the main frame, and carries atone end a crank,

cams for adjusting vertically the front end of the ordinaryconstruction, and provided with the concave, owing to the obstruction ofthese devices by dirt and straw. To obviate these difficulties, I haveinvented a combination of toggle-levers with the concave, as follows:Referring to Figs. 2 and 5, D is a rock-shaft, mounted upon theframe-work, and carrying acrank or arm, d, at one end, and a T-piece, d,at the other end. D D represent togglelevers, pivoted to supporting-lugs01 and to ears projectingfrom the under side of the concave segments 0 dd are links connecting opposite end of the T-piece, or double crank (P,with the central pivot of each of the toggle-levers.

When the levers are in the position shown in Fig. 5, and in full linesin Fig. 6, the front end of the concave will be raised to its highestpoint, from which it can be lowered, as desired, as indicated in dottedlines in Fig. 6. In these two figures the actuating lever or crank isarranged at the front end of the ma chine, immediately below the edge ofthe concave. In Figs. 7, 8, 9, and 10, I have shown other methods ofapplying the toggle-lever to accomplish the same object. In Figs. 8, 9,and 10, I employ a shaft arranged transversely of the thrasher. In Figs.8 and 9 the shaft is connected with the central pivots of the levers bymeans oflinks d while in Fig. 10 the lower lever of each pair is rigidlyattached to the shaft. In all of the constructions I propose to employpawls d to engage with ratcheted surfaces upon the hubs or pivoted endsof the hand levers or cranks d to maintain the con cave in the positionto which it has been adjusted. E is the separating table or shaker,formed of inclined blind slats of substantially a number of wire-tossingfingers, a part or all of which have angular shoulders at their upperends, as at e a, Fig. 2, for the purpose of more thoroughly agitatingand loosening up the straw as it passes over the table, and thuseffectually separating the grain. This table has a variable backward andforward, and rising and falling, motion imparted to it by the followingdevices: E E are shafts mounted in suitable bearings on the frame, andprovided each with two cranks, e 6 one crank of each shaft being pivotedto the supporting-rib-at each side of the separating-table.

Referring to Fig. 1, F is a crank-wheel, the shaft of which carries atits opposite end a band-wheel. F is a pitman connecting the crank-wheelwith the horizontal bar F by means of the slotted platef, which isadjustably attached to bar F by bolts which pass through the slots f inthe plate, or other equivalent means. Each end of the horizontal bar hasa number of holes, as at f, and each shaft E E has adownwardlyqgrojecting crank outside the casing, the holes f fitting overthe wrist-pins of these cranks, as at 6 6 Fig. 1.

From an inspection of the drawings, it will be seen that thisconstruction enables me to make many adjustments in the direction andthekind or condition of the straw may render desirable. Thus, asindicated, in Fig. 2, the cranks e at the rear end of the machine may bearranged in a more nearly horizontal position than the cranks at thefront end, when that end of the table will have a much greater risingand falling motion in proportion to its forward and backward movementthan the front end of the table will. Again, should the straw be dampand require a vigorous and long-continued shaking to thoroughly separatethe grain from it, thiscan be produced by moving the slotted plate fforward, in which case the same movement of the crank and pitman willincrease the rising and falling motion of the table,- and will diminishits forward and backward motion, as will be readily understood withoutfurther explanation; and, should it be found desirable, the throw of thepitman can be increased or diminished by putting the wrist-pin of thecrank-wheel into some other one of a series of holes at varyingdistances from the center of the crankshaft. G is a raddle-belt, theslats of which carry the grain rearward over the grain-table G, uponwhich it falls through the grating (1 or through the separating-table E.Gr is adoor formed of a portion of the grain-table G to afford access tothe interior of the machine. (See Fig. 2.) H represents a four-bladedbeater arranged in rear of the thrashing-cylinder.

The grain is delivered from the raddle belt and table G to the sieve Iof the winnower, the shoe of which is suspended in the usual manner bythe links 0; This raddle-belt performs a novel and important function inmy machine, which is different from that which it produces in machineswhere it is us ed in combination with a perforated separating-tablewithout the shoulders or angular fingers 0. Thus, in very ripe grain, orwhen the straw is from any cause brittle or tender, it becomes very muchbroken, and a large portion of it falls through the slotted table E uponthe table or platform G Upon this table it is collected in buches orgavels by the slats of the raddle-belt, and is thereby delivered to theaction of the strong overblast of the fan, and is discharged from themachine by the air-current without falling upon the sieve, thisdischarge being greatly facilitated by the straw being presented at theupper or rear end of the raddle-belt in a comparatively compact form,instead of being carried over in the scattered condition. in which itfalls through the table E, as it would be were an endless apron employedin place of the raddlebelt.

Another advantage growing out of the use of a raddle-belt,ii.1combination with a slatted table, is this: As the slats move over tableG they rake theloose straw from the grain, collecting at the same timethe grain in small quantities in front of the slats, until theaccumulation of grain is such that a slat will jump or climb over thegrain, carrying with extent of the throw or toss of the table E, as

it its load of straw, and at each such movement farther separating thestraw from the grain.

I i is the false bottom. The, part I is hinged to the true bottoml? atits front lower end, and the part i is hinged to the rear end of thepart 1 the rear edge of this part i resting loosely upon therear upperedge of the bottom I I is an adjusting-screw, working in a thread in thebottom 1 with its up per end engaging with the false bottom I 13. (SeeFig. 2.) J is a returning-spout, immediately at the rear of thebottom-board I In order to insure that this spout shall freely dischargeits contents I make the bottom of it in the form of a series of steps,j, as shown in Fig. 14.

J represents one of a series of fingers, which are attached to andproject from a head, j, to form a rack at the rear of the screen orsieve I. The head is supported in bearings, so as to rotate. J is asupplemental returning-board or tailings-board, hinged to the rear upperedge of the tailings-spout or returningspout J. Board J has at each enda slotted segmental piece, j, by means. of which it (the board) can beadjusted at any desired angle, screws passing through the slots j intothe side of the winnower-shoe, for that purpose. (See Figs. 2 and 11.)The tailings-spout J communicates at its lower end with the elevator K,which returns the tailings to the thrashing-cylinder, as is customary inthis class of machines. As the grain falls from the raddle-belt G itpasses through the sieve I, and thence upon and over the board I 6 It isacted upon by the wind-blast from the fan, as will be hereinafter fullyexplained. From thence the grain passes to the grain-delivering spoutL.(SeeFigs. 2, 11, and 12.) This spout is hung to opposite sides of themachine by links or straps U. L is a double bell-crank lever, pivoted tothe under side of the machine, and connected with the grain-spout L andthe shoe of the winnower by two links, 6 0. (See Fig. 12.) The third armof this bellcrank lever is connected with a crank-wheel, L by a pitman,1 (See Figs. 1 and 12.) Link 1 is attached to a sliding plate, L (seeFig. 12,) which is mounted in brackets or loops l in such manner as toslide freely therein, being secured in position by a set-screw, L (seeFigs. 2 and 12,) ora perforated plate, L may be employed in place of thesliding plate.

In Figs. 1 and 12 I have shown this spout projecting from the right-handside of the ma chine, looking toward the rear, to facilitate thedelivery of the grain upon that side, but by shifting the position ofthe sliding plate L the spout can be made to project from the oppositeside of the machine. l is a grassseed screen, pivoted centrally in thespout L, to separate the seed from the grain. As this sieve isinclined,it also facilitates the discharge of the grain. Each end ofthis spout is provided with a door, Z, and the bottom of the spout hastwo openings, Z V, covered by slides l Z. (See Fig. 12.) One of theseslides by a second cord,.m in substantially the usual manner. N is ablast-deflector or centerboard, pivoted in thh air-passage between thewing-boards M M center-board N projects through the casing, and has acrank-arm, a, attached to it, which engages with a notched bar or rack,n Thus the position of the board can be adjusted at the will of theoperator.

0 is the fan, the blades 0 of which revolve in the direction indicatedby the arrow 0 creating what is called an overblast, the aircurrent fromwhich is delivered with its greatest strength above the center-board N,and sweeps across the upper face of the sieve I.

Owing, as I believe, to the fact that the sills B obstruct the space atthe end of the fancase immediately below the faushaft, which therebynecessitates arranging the lower draftslides m m near the lower edge ofthe case or shell M, the fan draws the greater part of its air throughthese openings, or at least the air taken in at this point acquires thegreatest velocity, and is, when it leaves the fan, the stronger andcontrolling current, for which reason I am enabled to deflect thisstrong current by means of the center-board, and to cause said current,or a certain portion of it, to impinge upon the false bottom L i, and bereturned from thence against the under side of the sieve I withoutmaterially impairing its strength--a result which could not beaccomplished in so satisfactory a manner with an underblast, it beingevident that with such current the centerboard, when turned into theposition indicated by dotted lines, would intercept the blast and act asa cut-off to seriously break its force.

Again, in underblast machines it is sometimes necessary to raise therear edge of the lower wingboard, in such manner as direct the aircurrent up against the under side of- I the horizontally rearwardprojecting upper board of the fan-case. From thence the current isdeflected downward to the bottom board, and fromthence upward againstand through the sieve.

Compelling the air-current to pursue this zigzag course materiallyweakens it, and, further, necessitates the use of a short sieve, whichmust be placed at such distance from the fan as to reduce theeffectiveness of the blast, all of which defects in operation areremedied inmy construction. So, also, in case the'grain and chaff areheavier upon one side of sieve I than they are at the other side, I canincrease the strength of the air-blast upon that The shaft or pivot ofthechange in the direction of the strong air-cur- 'may lie flat upon thebottom I, as indicated in the position shown in full lines, Fig. 2,

partially opening, the rear draft-slide upon the I same side, and at thesame time opening wider the front draft-slide upon the opposite side ofthe machine.

When desired, I can still further effect this rent by closing the rearupper draft-slide upon that side of the machine opposite to the heavygrain. I

Under some circumstances the false bottom in dotted lines, Fig. 2; butincase it be found that light grain is being blown over thetailings-board J this bottom I t' may be moved which will create a sortof dead-air chamber in rear of the highest point, near screw 1, so thatsuch light grain. or grain which has not been fully separated from thehulls, will pass into the tailings spout J, and be returned to thethrashing-cylinder.

This operation is particularly desirable in thrashing wheat and oats, orrye and oats, which have been sowed and harvested together.

The nest of sieves, Figs. 3 and 4, are intended for thrashing flax ortimothy seed. In using them, the projecting upper screen is to extendrearward. The tailings-board, or sup plemental board J is to be let downinto the position shown in Fig. 4, under which arrangement this boardwill form a returning-board to collect such bolls and unthrashed headsas may pass over the rear end of the upper screen, and deliver them tothe tailings-spout J, so that they shall be returned to the cylin-. der.I remove the sieve I, and put in the nest of sieves with their frontends resting in the notches 5 Fig. 2, their rear ends being sup.- portedby the upper sieve of the nest resting upon abolt or rod, 6 whichextends across the shoe for this purpose. By supporting the rear ends ofthe lower sieve upon the upper one Iam enabled to hang them all upon thesingle rod i and thus leave an unobstructed space below screen I for theadjustment of the false bottom I t.

When the trap-door Gr is opened, as in Fig. 2, access may be had to theinterior of the machine to adjust the raddle-belt, or .for otherpurposes.

One special advantage which is derived from providing the table G with adoor, G is the ease with which obstructions can be removed from theta'ble, especially at the lower front end, where a large part of thegrain is received through the grating 0 it being apparent that in case,from slaekness of the belts, or otherwise, the raddle-belt should stop,and the grain, chafl', and straw accumulate upon table G in consequence,such accumulation can be much more readily removed through trap Gr thanit could be through openings in the ring S fits.

the side or end of the machine, and it is evident such trap could not beadvantageously used with an endless apron.

On Sheet 5 I have shown devices for supporting and driving thestacker-belt, which will admit of the upper end of said stacker beingswung sidewise to facilitate the convenient delivery of the straw. P isthe bottom or stationary floor supported by sides I? P and a rope, Q,from a Windlass, Q, upon the top of the machine, as usual. (See Fig. 2.)It is a shaft, mounted in arms R which extend rearward from the machine.This shaft drives the belt of the elevator K, and carries near itscenter a grooved or spool shaped pulley, R S is a flange or ring,supported upon arms R R S is a shaft, mounted upon bearings in armsprojecting from a carrier to be described. S is a pulley upon the centerof shaft S and s s are two flat pulleys at the ends of the shaft. T is abar or carrier, provided with grooves at 'each end, into which T is aspindle, secured firmly in a spider or bracket, which depends from thelower face of ring S, and passes up through the carrier T. Thus it willbe seen that the carrier is free to oscillate about the spindle T asacenter. Uis aloose guiding-pulley upon spindle T. u u are similarpulleys, mounted upon studs projecting from carrier T. U is a beltpassing around pulleys R S and between pulleys U u u. V is a shaft atthe lower end of the stacker, which is mounted at the inner ends of-thearms V V, which are firmly secured to carrier T, the inner ends of thesearms or plates being high enough to permit shaft V to be arranged abovethe belt U, or, when preferred, above the pulleys U u a. The pulleys s sare belted to, pulleys 'v 'v on the ends of shaft V.

From an examination ofthe drawings it will be seen that the upper end ofthe stacker W is free to move laterally, 'and can describe a numberofdegrees upon a circle, carrying with it the carrier T withoutdisturbing the proper working relation of pulleys S B and belt U.

I am aware that thrashers have been heretofore constructed with anoffset or shoulder in each of the side sills, to permit the front wheelsto turn under the machine, the sill being in a single piece; but mymethod of making each sill in two pieces spliced together is preferable,because it enables me to locate the fan much lower and yet have thedesired space at the ends of the fan-case for the admission of air, asit will be readily seen from an inspection of Fig. 2, that if the part Bof the sill were extended in its full width to the rear of the machine,it would nearly close the airentrances at the upper part of thefan-case.

Referring to Figs. 18 and 20, a is a rod hooked at one end andscrew-threaded at the other. It is hooked upon the arm R and has across-tie, a, placed upon its outer end, which is clamped against thewheel by means of nuts, thus preventing any sliding of the wheel uponthe axle.

It will not be necessary to describe in derenew T 5 tail the-operationof the machine, as this will be readily understood without furtherexplanation.

What I claim is 1. In a mounted thrasher, an adjusting mechanism,whereby the front end of the machine can be adjusted or leveled relativeto the front axle, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the wheel A, of hooked rod 0 and cross-tie a asand for the purpose set forth.

3. In a thrashing-machine, the combination, with the concave oftoggle-levers, a crankshaft or rock-shaft, and links connecting thecrank-shaft with the toggle-levers for adj usting the position of theconcave, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination, with crank-wheel F, pitman F and connecting-bar F,of the ad justing-plate f, as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, with the crank-arms E E ofan adjustableconnecting-bar, F, as and for the purposes set forth.

6. In a separating-machine, the separatingtable E, provided withblind-slats and shou'l dere'd wires 6 e, as and for the purposes setforth.

7. The combination, in a thrasher and sep' arator,of the slattedseparating-table E, shouldered fingers e, grain-table G, and the grainrake or raddle-belt G, substantially as set forth.

8. In a thrasher and separator, a grain-table, G provided with the trapor hinged portion G to afford access to the interior of the machine,substantially as set forth.

9. In a grain-separator, the combination, with the fan of aWinnoWer-shoe having an adjustable false bottom, substantially as setforth.

10. In a separator, the combination of a blast-fan, a screen, and anadjustable false bottom made in two parts hinged to each other,substantially as set forth.

11. In combination with the winnoWer-shoe, the supplementalreturning-board J and adjusting-segments 7' substantially as set forth.

12. The bell-crank L and link 1 in combination with link Z hinged to theshoe, and adjustable link 1 substantially as set forth.

13. Link 1 in combination with spout L and adjusting-plate Lsubstantially as set forth. I

14. Spout L, having bottom openings Z Z and slides l 1 in combinationwith the centrally-pivoted grass-seed screen L substantially as setforth.

15. In a grain-separator, the combination of an overblast fan and acentral blastdeflector, N, with the screen or sieve I, and the bottomboard of the Winnower-shoe, substantially as set forth.

'16. The combination, with the overblast fan, the centralblast-deflector, and the screen, of an adjustable bottom board in thewin- .nower-shoe, substantially as set forth.

1?. The combination of the adjustable tailings-board J andreturning-spout J with the nesti of sieves consisting of the longcoarsemeshed upper sieve and the short finer-meshed lower sieves,substantially as set forth.

18. In combination with the swinging plate T and shafts R St, thepulleys E 3 belt U, loose pulley U, and supporting mechanism for drivingthe swinging stacker, substantially as set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I affix my signaturein presence of two witnesses.

JOHN H. ELWARD.

Witnesses:

W. '1. JOHNSON, H. H. BLIss.

